Sprint and Verizon representatives have confirmed that both carriers will launch a revision of the forthcoming BlackBerry Tour which includes a Wi-Fi radio, making it a first for both CDMA carriers.
In related news Sprint has confirmed that every smart device manufacturer that wants to offer smart devices on the carrier must include a Wi-Fi radio in the device, a requirement that can be seen in the latest devices from HTC and Palm in the Pre and Snap, noting that the decision was made internally to require Wi-Fi in previous quarters.
The reasoning behind the inclusion for Wi-Fi was borne out of customer demand and a desire to reach parity with GSM carriers, since Wi-Fi radios are routinely included in GSM BlackBerry models.
Encyclopedia: BlackBerry Tour 9630
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The HTC Snap from Sprint does NOT include wi-fi. For whatever reason, it was removed on Sprint’s version.
Yeah, isn’t that a corker, considering this pronouncement? I played with the Snap last week just to confirm this very omission, and it was indeed the case. No wi-fi. Got to play with the VZW Ozone this morning, wi-fi was shining in all it’s glory, otherwise pretty much identical to the Sprint Snap, hardware-wise.
[...] correlates Verizon’s previously stated plans to release a version of the BlackBerry Tour with Wi-Fi, as well as releasing smart devices [...]